Illinois state journal

BRIGHAM YOUNG,
His Wealth and How He Got It.
[From the Denver (Col.) Register.]
The prodigious wealth of the Salt Lake autocrat, Brigham Young, has been flaunted in the face of the world for ten years as an offset to his multifarious crimes against civilization and humanity. He has been held up to view as one of the ablest executive minds in the nation; a man capable of vast achievements; a ruler who moved the one hundred and fifty thousand people of his dominions like automatons, and made all things within the radius of his power move to his bid-ding. We have been told that he was the second largest depositor in the Bank of England, had millions in London real estate, and costly buildings without num-ber; held the balance of money power in New York and other cities, the lowest figure of his enormous gains being placed at seventy millions.
The Corinne Reporter tells how it was done, by whom, and for what purpose. It penetrates to the core ot this fruitful story, and gives some interesting details, which we take the liberty to reproduce in a con-densed form. The falsehood of the prophet's wealth was sent abroad in a quiet way, by and through the horde of proselyting agents scattered throughout the United States and Europe, and for this purpose: When it was decided by the Church to establish a gigantic co-operative institution, with branches extending through the capital city, and to every set-tlement of the empire, agents we sent to Chicago, New York, Boston and Philadelphia to purchase stocks for the multitude of stores proposed to be opened The seventy millions romance had preced-ed them, and dealers vied with each other as to who should sell the most goods on credit to the chief of Zion's co-operative establishment. Merchandise of every de-scription flowed into the territory in end- less stream, and the thousand stores were stocked. "Holiness to the Lord" fur-nished the trade mark, by which all mor-mons were ordered to buy. Excommuni-cation from the Church, which is virtually outlawry, was visited upon all who dared to violate the edict by trading with a Gen-tile. The institution has thus far made no dividends, and the eastern merchants who sold it goods were sold in return. When they sought the whereabouts of the glit-tering seventy millions, no part of it could be found.
The next scheme set on foot by the mighty Brigham was to build a few hun-dred miles of the Union Pacific railroad. He took large contracts, and it was re-ported that he realized immensely from them. His profits may have been large, but he claims to have received little or no money for his work, the greater part of the proceeds going into material for the Utah Central, from Ogden to Salt Lake. When built, Brigham hadn't the means to equip it, nor has he paid the men who did the work of construction. What was done with the funds acquired from the Union Pacific railroad contract don't ap-pear. He says the Union Pacific railroad company still owes him a large balance on the work.
Twenty two years ago Brigham Young, with a few hundred moneyless, but bigoted followers, entered the Salt Lake valley. Their first years were full of toil and suffering. They continued poor up to the arrival of Johnson's army, sent there by Floyd and Buchanan. This ex-pedition put money into their purses, and revived a thousand paying enterprises. Then came the war of rebellion, which was quickly followed by the good hunters of Montana and Idaho. For the first time since their longment in the valley tho Mormons began to prosper and Brigham to grow rich under these prospering com-binations. Thus it is seen that he must have made his seventy millions, or the major part of it, if at all, since 1862. Out of the funds thus acquired, he has been compelled to keep a number of mis-sionaries in the field, at home and abroad, and pay out large sums for the expense of getting foreign sheep into the fold. His tithings cannot be over a hundred and fifty thousand per annum, and we doubt if they arc that much. His foreign de-posit cannot be large, possibly a million or two, but he has a tight grasp on all the estates, goods and effects of his sub-jects, which may amount to thirty or forty millions; certainly not more. Salt Lake City to-day, though four times as large, is not so expensively built as Denver. The buildings are all adobe, and most of them of the cheapest kind. A few on Temple street, the main thoroughfare, present an imposing ap-pearance, but they are built of concrete or adobe and struccoed off into square blocks to represent cut stone.
Take away the forest shade of trees and the town would have no attractions what-ever. If, with these facts in view, the world can figure out where Brigham's seventy millions came from, it must find sharp mathamaticians, and get deeper into the archives of Mormondom, than we have been able to do.

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BRIGHAM YOUNG,
His Wealth and How He Got It.
[From the Denver (Col.) Register.]
The prodigious wealth of the Salt Lake autocrat, Brigham Young, has been flaunted in the face of the world for ten years as an offset to his multifarious crimes against civilization and humanity. He has been held up to view as one of the ablest executive minds in the nation; a man capable of vast achievements; a ruler who moved the one hundred and fifty thousand people of his dominions like automatons, and made all things within the radius of his power move to his bid-ding. We have been told that he was the second largest depositor in the Bank of England, had millions in London real estate, and costly buildings without num-ber; held the balance of money power in New York and other cities, the lowest figure of his enormous gains being placed at seventy millions.
The Corinne Reporter tells how it was done, by whom, and for what purpose. It penetrates to the core ot this fruitful story, and gives some interesting details, which we take the liberty to reproduce in a con-densed form. The falsehood of the prophet's wealth was sent abroad in a quiet way, by and through the horde of proselyting agents scattered throughout the United States and Europe, and for this purpose: When it was decided by the Church to establish a gigantic co-operative institution, with branches extending through the capital city, and to every set-tlement of the empire, agents we sent to Chicago, New York, Boston and Philadelphia to purchase stocks for the multitude of stores proposed to be opened The seventy millions romance had preced-ed them, and dealers vied with each other as to who should sell the most goods on credit to the chief of Zion's co-operative establishment. Merchandise of every de-scription flowed into the territory in end- less stream, and the thousand stores were stocked. "Holiness to the Lord" fur-nished the trade mark, by which all mor-mons were ordered to buy. Excommuni-cation from the Church, which is virtually outlawry, was visited upon all who dared to violate the edict by trading with a Gen-tile. The institution has thus far made no dividends, and the eastern merchants who sold it goods were sold in return. When they sought the whereabouts of the glit-tering seventy millions, no part of it could be found.
The next scheme set on foot by the mighty Brigham was to build a few hun-dred miles of the Union Pacific railroad. He took large contracts, and it was re-ported that he realized immensely from them. His profits may have been large, but he claims to have received little or no money for his work, the greater part of the proceeds going into material for the Utah Central, from Ogden to Salt Lake. When built, Brigham hadn't the means to equip it, nor has he paid the men who did the work of construction. What was done with the funds acquired from the Union Pacific railroad contract don't ap-pear. He says the Union Pacific railroad company still owes him a large balance on the work.
Twenty two years ago Brigham Young, with a few hundred moneyless, but bigoted followers, entered the Salt Lake valley. Their first years were full of toil and suffering. They continued poor up to the arrival of Johnson's army, sent there by Floyd and Buchanan. This ex-pedition put money into their purses, and revived a thousand paying enterprises. Then came the war of rebellion, which was quickly followed by the good hunters of Montana and Idaho. For the first time since their longment in the valley tho Mormons began to prosper and Brigham to grow rich under these prospering com-binations. Thus it is seen that he must have made his seventy millions, or the major part of it, if at all, since 1862. Out of the funds thus acquired, he has been compelled to keep a number of mis-sionaries in the field, at home and abroad, and pay out large sums for the expense of getting foreign sheep into the fold. His tithings cannot be over a hundred and fifty thousand per annum, and we doubt if they arc that much. His foreign de-posit cannot be large, possibly a million or two, but he has a tight grasp on all the estates, goods and effects of his sub-jects, which may amount to thirty or forty millions; certainly not more. Salt Lake City to-day, though four times as large, is not so expensively built as Denver. The buildings are all adobe, and most of them of the cheapest kind. A few on Temple street, the main thoroughfare, present an imposing ap-pearance, but they are built of concrete or adobe and struccoed off into square blocks to represent cut stone.
Take away the forest shade of trees and the town would have no attractions what-ever. If, with these facts in view, the world can figure out where Brigham's seventy millions came from, it must find sharp mathamaticians, and get deeper into the archives of Mormondom, than we have been able to do.